Shards of the Sea
by StarlingChild4
Summary: She is wild, she is on the loose, she is nigh uncatchable. But when the pirate captain Inuyasha is given the chance to be pardoned in exchange for her capture, will he take the chance of a peaceful life or will he follow her to the ends of the earth, never quite reaching her? A story told in snippets and ficlets. Art by thunderpot on Tumblr. Winner of Best Inuyasha Action Q1 2020!
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Real pirates are not good, kids. But they sure make good as hell stories!**_

_**Author's Note: This all began with brainstorming on Discord that launched into an AU series that I could not resist writing! Credit for the art goes to the amazing thunderpot on Tumblr, whose back and forth with me on Discord sparked this idea: my description inspired her art, which in turn, inspired my writing. Go check it out! Her Tumblr url is "thunderpot" and the** **post number is 188678951098. ****It's so awesome and fits perfectly with my ideas for this series! **_

_**Keep in mind, this is a sort of "vignette" collection. There's no real "cohesive" story, other than the basic premise and the interactions between Pirate!Inuyasha and Pirate!Kagome. Updates will be sporadic at best, but hopefully, my love for pirates will keep the ball rolling. ^.^ **_

_**Words: 655**_

_**Enjoy!**_

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**Shards of the Sea**

oOoooOoOoooOo

Many sailors believe that the ocean is ruled by a ruthless, temperamental god. The volatile motions of the waves, the monstrous creatures whose occasional glimpses beneath the surface left quite a bit of room for the imagination, the almost seamless connection to the sky's "attitude" matching the ocean's own temperament...

For many millennia, no living soul with half a brain dared to cross the vast, untouchable reaches of the mighty sea. Yarn after yarn was spun, creating massive, tangled balls of bizarrely vivid depictions of frightening sea creatures, full of teeth and scales and claws; various gods and goddesses that ruled the deep blue, and the constant battles for power; mystical lands on the other side, practically drowning themselves in treasure beyond the wildest dreams. The tales spread far and wide, even reaching deep in the mountains or across parched deserts, places that had never seen a body of water larger than a small lake or pond.

The ocean sparks the imagination in ways that only the stars can rival. Long after peoples of many races and countries began the first, precarious voyages across the savage sea, the ancient stories remained eternally dense and determinedly rooted in fear and worship of the mysterious sea god or goddess.

But Inuyasha Taisho, Captain of the Siren's Wing, knew better. The ocean wasn't ruled by any god.

The ocean was _in of itself_ a god.

A self-ruling, insurmountable force of nature that could not be tamed.

But if you're born with just the right amount of gumption and sheer dumb luck, you can survive traveling across the unpredictable, deadly beast called "the ocean." You can even lie to yourself and voyage so successfully, you can believe that the gods themselves cannot bring you down. Many foolish men dared to call themselves "tamers of the ocean," claimed that humanity was the only species to conquer her vast, untouchable storms.

Stupid mortals. The ocean cannot be controlled.

She cannot be tamed.

She... was just like this woman.

Straddling his thighs, both boots planted firmly on his forearms against the wooden planks on his Siren's deck, Captain Kagome Higurashi, of the rival ship, The Naiad, pressed a knife to Inuyasha's throat. In a moment that now spelled his doom, Inuyasha slipped and let his guard down. And now, in the middle of the sea battle, surrounded by gunfire and shouts and running men, Captain Inuyasha Taisho was at the mercy of his greatest rival.

As he stared up into her blazing eyes, a stormy and fierce grey-blue, her glare piercing the very fabric of his soul, he swallowed hard against the blade. She gritted her teeth, and grabbed hold of the beads around his neck, pulling his face closer until their noses touched.

"Touch my children again," she said in a growl that he never thought was possible to escape her pretty mouth, "and you won't live to see another day."

Fuck.

This was in the middle of a battle. People die in battles. Every pirate and sailing man worth his salt knew the risks of coming across an unfriendly ship while crossing unknown waters. And she still acted like it was his fault and his alone?

Damn wench.

But when he felt the first drop of blood spill against the edge of her knife, Captain Inuyasha realized something: she didn't care about the rules of combat or the basic aspects of warfare. To her, her "children," the crew members of her ship who were infamously "adopted" by her, were as precious to her as her own life.

She would not hesitate to destroy those who ignite her wrath.

Just like the ocean will swallow up ships in a heartbeat.

A goddess does not tolerate disrespect in her home.

Inuyasha stared into Kagome's eyes, their lips a breadth away even as her own were contorted in a vicious snarl.

Shit. He didn't know whether to shit his pants or kiss her.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note: A bit of backstory here, in which the summary is explained. **_

_**Words: 960**_

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"I do not approve of working with filthy pirates," Commodore Yuki Hojo said with a sniff.

Beside his desk, his subordinate and younger cousin, Captain Akitoki Hojo, shifted on his feet nervously. Then, he cleared his throat. "Commodore, with all due respect, we have been searching with our fleet now for two months. Reports continually return with no indication of her death, but also no success of her retrieval, either. We have run out of options."

"Yes, cousin, you have a point." Commodore Hojo sighed and looked up from his paperwork, his nose scrunched up with distaste. He waved his hand, and the guards opened the doors to his office, and Inuyasha Taisho stepped into the room. In a few quick strides, he crossed over to the commodore's desk, clasped his hands behind his back, and waited.

The half-demon pirate looked as out of place here as a fish out of water. His long, silver hair, dark purple bandana, mysterious beads about his neck, grimy boots, and brine-infested clothing that forever permeated the stench of fish, salt, and ocean spray all screamed "uncouth."

Pirate.

Commodore Hojo suppressed a shudder (pirates weren't exactly known for good hygiene) and forced a diplomatic smile. "Greetings, Captain Taisho. I hope your journey was, er, pleasant?"

Inuyasha crossed his arms, glaring down at the nervous little man. "Look, are ya going tell me what's the deal with sending me all over here? I'm a busy man, ya know."

"Yes, well, your days of pilfering and plundering will be over, but not, unfortunately, by way of the noose."

"Come again?"

Commodore Hojo reached into one of his drawers, pulled out a framed portrait, stared at it longingly for a moment, then placed it gently face down on the desk, pushing it towards the front. Catching on the indication, Inuyasha reached out and picked it up. The artist portrayed a beautiful young lady, with long, wavy black hair and grey-blue eyes. She looked kind, but melancholy. For a moment, Inuyasha felt a spasm of pity that he couldn't explain, but his face and voice betrayed nothing.

"She's quite a dish. Is she my new bride or something? Lucky me."

Commodore Hojo winced but swallowed his discomfort. "She's my fiance."

"Is that a fact? Any reason why you're showing this to me? Fancy sharing her or something?" Inuyasha smirked. The guards and two Hojos shifted uncomfortably but no one said a word or tittered a laugh. Damn prudish gits.

"She... disappeared on our wedding day. That was six months ago. We tried everything, but we simply cannot get her home-"

"And what in the hell does that have to do with me?"

"I'm making you a deal."

Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow up. He didn't exactly trust the law, but he also never had to deal with the law being so, well, reasonable in the past. "... I'm listening."

"Find her, bring her back alive and in one piece, and I'll grant you a full pardon. Your records will be stripped entirely of your piracy and you will be given a substantial income and home. You can retire in peace, wealth, and with a clear conscience. Only God may judge you thereafter."

Inuyasha snorted, handing back the portrait. "If you mean to tell me that I have to give up the seas, my ship, my crew, my freedom for some stuffy little cottage in the middle of civilization that cannot stand the likes of me, you've got another think coming, bud. Find somebody else to catch your broad. Count me out." He turned around to leave the room, but the guards blocked his path.

"If you leave now," Commodore Hojo called in a wavering yet determined tone, "I shall arrest you right this moment and send you to the gallows in the morning."

"Ah." Inuyasha slowly turned, a sarcastic grin directed at his object of ire. "So, it's blackmail, then. And you call us pirates dishonorable."

"Please. I do not feel comfortable with this anymore than you do, but I... I love her!" The commodore's face flushed bright red, like a fucking schoolboy; how old was he?! "I would give anything to bring her back. She must be so cold and frightened out there... Heaven only knows what horrors she's endured since being away from home..."

"Listen, buddy, how do you even know she's alive?"

Captain Hojo cleared his throat, and stepped forward, allowing his emotional cousin to take a moment to breathe. "We get weekly reports from our assets. She is very much alive, but seems to be contorting with pirates-"

"No! No, my Kagome was kidnapped! We talked about this, Akitoki!"

"R-right. 'Kidnapped.'" Captain Hojo's voice just barely concealed his belief of the theory, but he went on. "So, it's come to this: either we leave Lady Kagome at the mercy of the pirates whom always just barely escape our reach... or we fight fire with fire."

A moment of silence. Inuyasha sighed. "And if I fail at fetching her for you?"

Captain Hojo wore the slightest shadow of a smirk, but his eyes shone with pity. "Then, I'm afraid it's the chase of pirate Captain Inuyasha Taisho once more. The noose will eventually be your end if you do not succeed."

* * *

_One month later:_

"Touch my children again, and you won't live to see another day!"

Inuyasha gasped. Right after his mad thought of kissing her, suddenly a flare of recognition lit up his brain. "You're her," he croaked.

Captain Higurashi blinked. "Come again?"

"You're the woman that Hojo bloke was looking for! You're not just 'Captain Higurashi' are you... my Lady Kagome?"

He had one brief glimpse of the horrified look on her face, then there was a loud conking sound. Inuyasha knew no more.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note: Continuing the plot, in which Inuyasha realizes he's royally fucked. **_

_**Words: 491**_

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oOoooOoOoooOo

When Inuyasha came to, a blurry, orange image swirled in his vision. One sniff confirmed the identity. Groaning, he blearily swung his arm over and with a clumsy yet true aim, landed his fist on the object.

"Ow! Inuyasha! What was that for?!"

"For a raging fucking headache, runt." Inuyasha sat up, wincing, tentatively reaching up and rubbing the solid bump on top of his head. He was laying on his bed, inside his own ship. So, he survived the fight, huh? But why the hell did his head feel like a thousand hammers were slamming against his skull from the inside? Groaning again, he cradled his head in his hands. "Son of a bitch... what the actual fuck happened to me?"

"We found you unconscious when Captain Higurashi called for a stalemate." Shippo winced, touching his own bump on the head, but went on to inform his captain: "Looks like you got into a scuffle with Higurashi and she chose to knock you out instead of killing you. Guess she has an honor code like you, cap. Though yours is more debatable," he added in a grumpy undertone.

But Inuyasha was too busy thinking to deliver a second blow to his young crew member. Rubbing his head thoughtfully, he remembered that moment with Captain Higurashi, no, _Lady Kagome_, and connecting the dots of who he was on the hunt for.

"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuuuuuuck me!" Inuyasha muttered before ending his string of profanity in a shout, startling his kitsune companion. He stood up abruptly, and began pacing around his cabin, rambling to himself. "Fucking bitch was the fucking broad all along. But damn, can she wield a sword... and she almost had me, too... fuck, she's good-"

"Uh, Inuyasha?"

"- _too_ good, damn that wench. What in the hell is that Hojo brat thinking, marrying a badass chick like her? Well, he doesn't deserve her, but a deal's a deal, and, _fuck_, what am I going to do...?"

"What're we doing?" Shippo asked, frowning in confusion.

Inuyasha halted in his tracks. He turned to his crew member. Straightening up, he cleared his throat, and said, "All hands! All hands on deck! We make sail at once! Follow the Naiad!"

With a squeak, Shippo scurried off to pass on the message.

Inuyasha stepped out a moment later, looking far more "Captain-like" with his hat on head and not feeling nearly as disoriented as before. His crew was rushing about, hoisting the sails, and making ready for a swift journey to catch up with the rival pirate ship.

At the helm stood Miroku, the first mate. He nodded as his captain joined his side said, "You wish to deliver punishment for that headache, Inuyasha?"

"No, Miroku, just need to settle some unfinished business," Inuyasha said. He pulled out a spyglass and peered in, watching the distant Naiad sailing with the wind.

_And to get that kiss_, he added silently to himself.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note: Part backstory, in which Inuyasha first meets the fiery Kagome... **_

_**Words: 935**_

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oOoooOoOoooOo

_Three months ago_

The raid was a success. What luck to come across a wealthy ship transporting members of the aristocracy with barely any security! Inuyasha and his crew gleefully went over their hoard of treasures, while Shippo checked and double checked the pockets and hidden nooks of the hostages.

"Got one more necklace!" A rather loud shriek nearly drowned out Shippo's excited words. He scampered away, just barely avoiding the affronted lady's infuriated stomps and kicks; his find was in a rather private place.

"Excellent work," Inuyasha said, beaming at the kitsune and taking hold of the valuable item. It was a plain necklace overall, but with a rather large and no doubt expensive pink jewel as the centerpiece. Holding it above his head, he called out to the robbed passengers: "Ladies and gents, the captain and crew of the Siren's Wing will be going now. Thank you for your kind generosity. Your donations to our cause are most appreciated. Compliments of Captain Inuyasha Taisho," he gave a sweeping bow.

"Cowards! Thieves!" one man blurted out, struggling against his bonds.

"Cowards? Us?" Inuyasha glanced over his shoulders at his makeshift crew before fixing a tutting look at the accuser. "Good sir, we are dishonest thieves and scallywags, absolutely, but cowards? No, a coward would slit all your throats and light your ship on fire to burn the evidence. But I ever so kindly spared your lives so that you may live to tell the tale. I live constantly on the run, sir, while never once bothering to hide my trail. That is the opposite of cowardice."

"But it's probably very foolish," a strange woman's voice called out. Heads looked up, including a startled Inuyasha. On the opposite side of the aristocratic passenger ship, there was another ship, with a woman's silhouette standing high above the deck in the riggings of her ship. Her long hair billowed in the wind, though she remained concealed in-between the two ships' sails.

Inuyasha grinned and mockingly waved the recently recovered jewel necklace in her direction. A rival pirate, eh? Always a fun time. "Sorry, lass, but finders keepers-"

An arrow shot out and knocked the jewel clean out of his hand. He yelped in more surprise than pain, for the aim had been so true and the firing so fast, that was not a single nick on his skin, only the burn of the wooden shaft sliding past his fingers perfectly.

Before he had time to recollect his senses, a tiny two-tailed cat darted up to his feet, snatched the necklace between her teeth and leaped up into the riggings, heading back to the other ship.

"Thank you, Kirara," the strange woman's voice said as the cat's silhouette alighted on her shoulder.

She called out once more. "My thanks, Captain Taisho. Finders keepers, indeed. I look forward to the day you find something of mine. The name's Captain Higurashi. Until we meet again. Adieu!"

As her ship began sailing away, everyone could see the long, black hair and laughing face of Captain Higurashi, hanging on one hand on a rope as she waved goodbye, the jewel pendant dangling in her hand...

* * *

_The Sword Fight_

She was wearing the jewel she stole on that day. Inuyasha blinked and parried Kagome's blows.

"Why didn't you sell it? It must be worth a pretty penny," he commented, blocking one of her attacks and launching one of his own.

"None of your business, Taisho," she said with a grunt. Steel clashed against steel once more, the sweat was beading rather heavily on her forehead. Humans weakened so easily.

Inuyasha smirked and stepped in with a few more thrusts, forcing her to move back at a disadvantage. "Oh, I don't know. That pretty piece of jewelry has history, you know. It marks the day I first met you. You made quite the impression."

"Did I now?"

"Yeah. Probably could've made a wittier one-liner, but hey, we were all new once-"

"Do you always talk the ears off your opponent?"

"It takes a great master of swordplay to balance fighting with banter."

Higurashi smirked. "Cocky, aren't we?"

Their swords crossed, their faces close up, both grinning in the thrill of the fight. Inuyasha noticed that her eyes resembled the sea, before a great storm...

"No, not cocky. Just experienced. You're still a green."

"Excuse me?"

"This has been a grand talk, milady," he stepped back with a mocking bow, sword still at the ready, "but I'm afraid our little banter will have to cut short. We are in the middle of a battle, you know." He pulled out his gun and aimed upwards, keeping his eyes planted on his fighting partner. "And I can't afford to have one of your little snipers get me first."

The next few moments happened so quickly that no matter how many times he reran it in his mind thereafter, it all was a blur. He fired his gun, but Captain Higurashi had rushed forward and knocked his hand aside, causing the bullet to slice through one of the riggings instead of the crew member lurking above with a crossbow at hand. Higurashi screamed at the kid to run for it, then scuffled with Inuyasha, hand-to-hand.

Normally, in a scenario like this, the half-demon captain obviously had every advantage, but he was so startled by his rival's frantic reaction, that he lost his footing. Next thing he knew, he was down on his back and had a knife to his throat.

And still all he could think to himself was how unbelievably beautiful and terrifying Kagome Higurashi looked. Like an embodiment of the sea itself.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's Note: An interlude. Kagome's story. **_

_**Words: 1,217**_

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A lady does not complain.

A lady is demure, courteous, gracious, quiet.

Ladies wear air suppressing garments to keep their waists thin, their bosoms full, and their disposition fragile and delicate.

Ladies do not spit, swear, run, jump, shout, or, worst of all, swim.

Thirteen-year-old Kagome Higurashi broke all protocol on being a lady.

Hair flying behind her in the wind, her corset loosened to give her room to breathe as she ran, Kagome flew like a bird down the grassy knoll, ignoring the shouts and demands behind her for her return. Not yet. She would not return yet.

Faster and faster, she ran, the steep slope of the hill forcing her to keep moving or tumble over her head. She found herself laughing, and stripping her dress of excess garments: a stocking here, a petticoat there, all the floral-patterned extra nonsense flying into the air. By the time she reached the shore, she was not fit to be seen, wearing only a thin slip of a dress. Absolutely no corset, no petticoats, no stockings. Freedom!

Wriggling her bare toes in the warm, white sand, she ran towards the sea, splashing her feet in the shallows. Her face flushed, her hair a mess, and her heart soaring higher than the birds themselves, she danced along the edge of the water, shouting and squealing as the cold ocean spray soaked her dress. At one point, she waded deeper and dove under an incoming wave. She stood up again to breathe, shook her head like a lion's mane and whooped as loudly and happily as she could.

When her laughter and joy had all burst out of her, Kagome slowly turned back towards the shore, and then stood silently, staring wistfully out at the horizon.

"I hate being a lady!" she shouted suddenly into the roar of the waves crashing down. "I hate that I was born a woman, and growing these stupid breasts" - she glared down at the budding accused pair - "and I hate being carted off to balls and events for men to ogle at like I'm some sort of pig for slaughter and they're craving some bacon! I HATE BEING OUT!"

Breathless, she plopped down on the sand, knees propped up to her chest, digging her toes in the mud in front of her, where the water ebbed and flowed. She watched the waves crash in the distance, before they shrunk down into smaller waves upon reaching the shore. The water moved on its own, a powerful entity, who did not care for rules or regulations. It was self-ruled, self-taught, a mighty incredible force that could not be conquered or stopped or stuffed into a nasty corset.

"I wish I was you," she whispered, burying her face in her arms.

* * *

Ladies do not choose whom to marry.

Ladies must be like a flower: pretty and delicate, fragrant and fair.

Ladies cannot afford ugliness, but they can work with a plain disposition.

A lady must take advantage of all of her assets, even if she unfortunately not very pretty. Gentlemen will sooner pluck a ripe daisy over a wilted rose.

On the very rare occasion, a strange gentleman might fancy a wildflower, but ladies must not bank on that foolish hope. Ladies do not put their eggs in one basket.

Seventeen-year-old Kagome Higurashi was a shameless wildflower.

Long given up on truly taming her rebellious ways, her family conceded to certain demands, provided that she at least, _attempted_ to snag a husband by her eighteenth birthday. To their dismay, however, no matter how dresses she wore, no matter how many balls she reluctantly attended, Kagome was sooner seen curled up with a book in the corner or wandering about the gardens all alone than arm-in-arm with a handsome gentleman.

At an annual, most-important-of-all ball, the elderly Mr. Higurashi begged his granddaughter to please, _please_ try and be social with someone. Anyone! His desperate, vague request came at a devastating cost: Kagome was found arm-wrestling one of the boring gentlemen, whom she managed to convince to spar with after they consumed enough jugs of beer. Her sleeves were rolled up, her skirts hitched up exposing her _ankles_ (several horrified matrons would simply _not_ get over that fact!), and the bun that wound up her thick black hair looked rather like one after a "roll in the hay."

Needless to say, her latest scandal was the final straw.

"My parents told me I wasn't worthy of anyone who didn't love me for who I am!" she shouted through her keyhole as her grandfather stormed away from her room. "I refuse to marry some stuffy old bore, Grandfather! I REFUSE!"

* * *

A lady can be ruined.

A lady can lose everything.

A lady must be extremely careful with whom she courts. Or whom she befriends.

Ladies live on a razor's edge: one toe out of line could spell disaster.

Eighteen-year-old Kagome Higurashi sliced open her toe on the proverbial razor's sharp, unforgiving edge.

She met someone at a ball. For the first time in her life, she met someone who intrigued her. It was on All Hallow's Eve, a masquerade ball, which was already a mercy, and the only kind of ball Kagome could tolerate. After her disastrous incident last year, Mr. Higurashi made it explicitly clear that if she did not behave herself tonight, he would marry her off to some hapless chap within the very next morning.

Her job tonight was to be a wallflower. It wasn't ladylike and certainly not ideal, but after a string of nasty attempts to force her to socialize, her grandfather was left with no choice. Stand still, look pretty, some whippersnapper will be fooled by her appearance, no doubt.

To Kagome, this was a worst punishment than being locked up. At least in her room she had her books.

As she watched the dancers, blurry, dull, and their stupidly vapid conversations blending together into one annoying buzzing noise, her eye fell upon a handsome man also leaning against the wall next to her. At least, she assumed he was handsome: the mask covering his eyes, nose, and forehead could be concealing some nasty scar or malformation. Curious, despite herself, Kagome found herself staring. He had long black hair, tied back in a fashionable ponytail, but he still looked _wild_. Exotic. Like a traveler from far away, or across the sea...

Suddenly, he turned his head. And their eyes met behind their masks.

Perhaps it was because she was bored out of her mind. Perhaps it was because this was the first man she felt truly, utterly, shamelessly attracted to in her life. Whatever the case, somehow, she found herself in the stranger's arms. Somehow found her mouth on his, her fingers entangled in his hair, his own hands pulling her waist close, until their bodies were practically molded together, their mouths and hands losing control, only their garments and masks blocking them from truly becoming one...

Shrieks. Screams. Cries of "Hussy! Slattern! Scarlet woman!" rang in her ears. Hands tore her apart from the man's embrace, and in a sea of angrily contorted masks, Kagome felt herself being passed from one end of the room to the next, before being slammed into a carriage that hurtled off into the moonless night.

* * *

_**AN: "Being out" was a term that essentially was a "rite of passage" of when a girl was old enough to join Society. Usually, they'd be 15 or so, but eh. This is a paraphrase of the concept, fyi. **_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Note: Continuing with the "plot!" Also, this is the first "proper" chapter so far, lol. **_

_**Words: 1,780**_

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Tortuga. Every pirate's lair.

There's an unspoken agreement between pirates and the law: as long as no hostages were taken to the island, it would remain untouched by lawful enforcement.

(The truth was that it would require a battle with massive numbers to take on Tortuga and the royal families who ruled the sea were not deigned to spend that kind of money with the off-chance that they would round up every single pirate and take them to the gallows.)

It was a pirate's paradise. No laws, no rivalries, just a place for drinking, pleasures, brawls, and a hive of information.

When Inuyasha's Siren's Wing took dock at Tortuga, he was unsurprised to see the Naiad docked as well. Of course. Tortuga was a place to hide, as well. Pirates sometimes took refuge here for months at a time. If Captain Higurashi suspected that Inuyasha was after her...

Well, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. For a human, that is.

Two hours later (he had numerous distractions), he found her. Her scent was smothered by the stench of opium and alcohol, but she was here, nonetheless. In Tortuga's most popular pub, where daily brawls were a guarantee, she could have easily blend into this labyrinth of madness. But one sniff was all he needed. He followed the trail, weaving calmly in and out of the fighting crowd.

She was sitting at the bar, her head hung low, her brow creased in a thoughtful frown. He could only see her profile, but she looked rather preoccupied with her own thoughts to notice her surroundings.

Inuyasha sauntered up to her, feeling rather cocky at finding her so quickly, and was about to tap her on the shoulder when -

_SHHHNKK!_ Kagome whipped around on her seat, her sword out with a loud swish and nearly gutted Inuyasha had he not jumped back at the last second. Hands up, he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Hardly a fair greeting, wouldn't you say?"

"I'm a woman. I can't assume every man who approaches me doesn't have any sinister favors in mind." Her voice was icy. She looked unsurprised at his appearance, but her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I had hoped you'd take somewhat longer." She raised her sword, till the tip was pointing at the bridge of his nose. "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing more than polite conversation," Inuyasha said in a drawl, his hand reaching for the hilt resting on his hip. "After all, I believe re-introductions are in order... My lady."

In a flash, Kagome leaped to her feet, the stool she was sitting on knocked down, and had at him. But Inuyasha was too quick for her, unsheathing his sword and blocking her attacks, parrying back at her. Like a dance, they fought, circling and ducking and jumping onto chairs and tables, gathering some attention from the others in the pub, but mostly mingled in the chaos.

At one point, a drunkard threw a bottle, clearly missing his intended target because it soared the other way, heading straight toward Kagome's head, who was standing on top a table, sparring with Inuyasha who had one boot on a chair, halfway up to her. Inuyasha's hand shot out and caught it, handing it to another drunkard, who gratefully tried to lap up whatever liquor was left inside.

"Really, my lady, you certainly are acting calm in the face of such vile, sacrilegious displays of violence and inebriation," Inuyasha said above the din, joining her atop the precarious table. It wobbled beneath them, but they maintained their balance.

"Who says I am calm?" Kagome snapped, parrying his moves and slamming her boot down on a loose board on the table, shaking his stance. "I am absolutely livid."

"Oh? Well, do tell me what it is that's upsetting you so deeply, my lady? Surely, it is a gentleman's honor to dry a lady's tears and console her poor, delicate disposition-? Whoa!" He ducked at her vicious swing, blocking her blade in the nick of time. He grinned up at her through the ferocity of their crossed blades. "Whoops. Did I touch a nerve?"

"Shut up! Bastard!"

More clanging of steel. But the lack of balance on Inuyasha's end from his squatting down caused Kagome to sway dramatically, falling backwards. Inuyasha leaped up and reached out and caught her hand, pulling them both back on their feet and landing back on the solid floor in a matter of seconds. For a moment, they remained, flushed against each other's chests. Their eyes met.

"Well," Inuyasha said, clearing his throat, as he tried not to drown in her stormy depths, "it seems we're at an impasse. Shall we call a truce?"

Kagome's eyes shone for a moment, with an almost childish wonder, but then sparked with unadulterated fury as she shoved him away. With a swish and clang, they crossed swords again, resuming their previous dance. Inuyasha parried and blocked her moves smoothly, but her defense was as strong as his. She held her own in a fight against a creature much stronger than her, the sheer rage within her soul fueling her strength.

She was so goddamn beautiful.

Her emotions were as volatile and wild as the ocean's surface. It was breathtaking. It was terrifying. It was hard to believe that this was the same woman whose sad, broken eyes gazed out at him from the portrait Hojo showed him last month.

Not for the first time, Inuyasha wondered at this tangled web he found himself in. Finding a lone girl in an ocean of pirates and royal asshats was one thing; dragging back by the hair the physical embodiment of the sea herself was quite another.

Because he was convinced more than ever that she was a child of a sea, a goddess in her own right.

At the very least, he thought with a smirk, she would make a fun chase.

Their hilts clashed and they stepped in close once more, their lips a breadth apart behind the cold steel of their blades. Breathless, Kagome spoke, her teeth clenched in a furious hiss, "Tell me who sent you, and I'll let you live."

"Make me," Inuyasha egged, tearing his eyes away from her own, staring blatantly at her lips.

She shoved him away again, striking at him again and again, until he was up against a large wooden pillar, shielding them from the rest of the chaos. She swung her sword at his head, he blocked it, and locking hilts again, this time above their heads, they stared at each other, panting heavily.

"I don't take orders from anyone, Taisho," she said, in a voice quite different from before, her eyes reflecting the storm inside. A storm of rage and anticipation. She was a goddess testing her prey, insulted and yet intrigued by his impudence. There was a low rumble in her voice, as she said in a husky whisper that only his half-demon ears could pick up: "I have you cornered. I will do with you as I please."

Inuyasha's stomach flipped. She looked so gorgeous with her hair damp from sweat, her eyes bright and ferocious from a fight, and her chest rising up and down, unrestrained from a corset.

"What would please you, my lady?" he asked in a teasing tone, hoping she'd take the bait again.

She glared at him. She straightened her back defiantly, noble pride exuding from her stance. Her next words were so soft, so mumbled, that even Inuyasha couldn't comprehend what she said.

"Kiss me."

He blinked. "What?"

She snarled and dropped her blade, making him lose his grip, too. The two swords fell onto the floor with a clang. She grabbed him by the collar with both hands, their lips just barely apart as she hissed in an impassioned, infuriated tone: "Oh, just kiss me before I change my mind, you insufferable-!"

A gunshot hit the pillar, jolting them apart, Inuyasha cursing out loud, turning around and blocking the debris from Kagome. They straightened up, Inuyasha reached down and grabbed their swords, tossing hers back. She caught it with ease. They stared at one another.

The madness from a few moments before seemed all the more ludicrous as the noise and mayhem around them crashed back into their world with a vengeance.

Kagome's face was flushed, bright and glowing, her eyes storming more intensely than before. Her wild beauty drove him insane; every moment he had where he found her irresistible, the next made her even more unbelievably gorgeous.

This was madness. This was complete and utter insanity. Any man worth his salt knew better than to sail into a hurricane.

But Inuyasha wanted to see the eye of this storm. He wanted to...

His hand twitched, longing to feel her skin. She licked her lips.

A musket ball whizzed behind her, causing her hair to fly in the air temporarily, but she didn't flinch. She stood her ground, watching him. Testing him.

He took a step closer, reaching...

"Captain!" The cry of one of the Naiad's crew members snapped them at attention, Inuyasha's arm falling back to his side, fists clenched tightly.

Kagome turned with a look of half-admonishment, half-relief at her first mate. "What is it, Sango?" she said calmly, sheathing her sword on her buckle.

(Only Inuyasha noticed the way her fingers subtly slid up and down the hilt, her roughened digits surprisingly deft. He barely suppressed a growl at the erotic sight, wondering if she was doing it on purpose or she was merely releasing tension.)

"Commodore Hojo's ship, Captain! It's making port!"

Kagome's face paled. Swallowing hard, she said in a strained voice, "Send a message to those onboard to make sail and meet us _out back_," she said the words with a cryptic emphasis, like they've done it before, "and gather up everyone. We must move quickly but not too much, or we'll look suspicious. Go!"

After Sango fled, Kagome whirled on Inuyasha, her eyes blazing with the fury of a thousand suns. Inuyasha instinctively backed up against the pillar once more.

"_You!_ He followed you! He tracked you to find me! You are working for him!"

"A man's gotta make a living!" Inuyasha said, though his stomach twisted. "Besides, there's no reason to get on your high horse, _my lady_. We're pirates! We're hardly 'honorable men'!"

"I've met pirates with honor that would rival chivalrous knights!" Kagome shouted. "And in my experience, it's the so-called 'gentlemen' who are the dishonorable-"

Inuyasha growled, wrapped his arm about her waist and kissed her at last, fully, on the mouth.

He stepped directly into the storm.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's Note: And here, we dip into M-rated territory. You have been "warned." ;) **_

_**Words: 998**_

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Their mouths and bodies molded together with an almost familiarity, like two long lost lovers finding one another again.

Never leaving his lips from hers for more than a moment, Inuyasha hoisted up Kagome under her bottom. Understanding instantly, she wrapped her legs about his waist, pressing herself as close as possible to him as they kissed more passionately. As soon as she was secured in his arms, he carried her away. Soon, the chaos and noise of the brawl infested pub died down as they found themselves in an abandoned room to the side.

Panting heavily, they parted lips for a moment while Inuyasha scrambled to unbuckle his trousers. Kagome unbuttoned his shirt, running her hands appreciatively over his sculpted chest, and pushed the shirt off over his shoulders. They mutually untied their swords and dropped them to the side, Inuyasha stepping over them. Kagome then tried wriggled out of his embrace so she could remove her own clothes, but Inuyasha held firm.

"If I was wearing a dress, I wouldn't bother moving away," she said in a huff.

"I can handle it," Inuyasha growled, now freed of his constricted trousers by kicking them completely off. Naked and hard as a rock, he captured her mouth again in a heated, wet kiss.

"What, you think you can unclothe me while my feet remain off the ground? Cocky bastard." Kagome smirked into the kiss, nibbling at his bottom lip.

"Watch and learn." With that, Inuyasha raised a single claw and sliced up her clothes in one fell swoop. The tattered clothing fell to the floor.

Kagome nearly shrieked in dismay, but Inuyasha smothered the cry with another kiss. "You better … pay for those..." she mumbled against his lips, reciprocating his kisses with equal passion and desire.

"I always pay my debts, wench," he whispered huskily, his member throbbing with anticipation as he began to feel her naked skin flushed against his. He ran his clawed hands carefully up and down her soft body, growling in appreciation at her shivering in response. He nuzzled her neck, knowing that she could feel as well as hear the vibrations in his throat as he quietly growled lustily as his hands explored her gorgeous body.

"Wench? I thought I was 'your... lady,'" she gasped as his claws gently swept up her back, arching against his touch.

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy, Captain Higurashi?"

"Not at all, Captain Taisho. Now kiss me."

Inuyasha gladly obliged. He backed her up to the nearest wall, kissing her with a desperate fury to drown out the warnings ringing in his mind. He needed her. Gods spare his soul, he needed her like he needed air to breathe.

With her back firmly against the wall, her legs still wrapped tightly about his waist, Inuyasha could let go of her back to play with her soft, full breasts. Kagome mewled, a tiny, sweet little sound of pleasure that he never thought he would ever hear coming from this force of nature, this swirling storm that he had willingly stepped into. He squeezed her breasts together, watching her aroused expressions, hearing her moans, desperately wanting to capture this moment forever, wanting to hold her forever, never letting her be with that stupid Hojo, never letting her sail off and disappear again...

The friction of their movements caused the tip of Inuyasha's exposed member to rub against her center. They gasped, glancing downwards and looking back at each other. For a heartbeat, hesitation played in their eyes, an unspoken question. Kagome was the first to break the tension. With a teasing, sly smile on her kissable lips, she bucked her hips. They moaned, clasping at each other in ecstasy, so close yet so far from true paradise.

Inuyasha tilted his head back with a groan, his eyes closed temporarily at the sensation of her wetness slowly dripping over his member, wondering if he dared to take the risk. Wondering if he dared to make love to a goddess.

Suddenly, Kagome huffed in annoyance. "Would you stop delaying and just _do it_, already?!" she hissed, wriggling her hips to emphasize her point. "I can't exactly... push myself onto you from this position," she added with a blush.

"As you wish, my lady," he said hoarsely, adjusting himself and steering himself in the right direction... his head just barely beginning to penetrate-

_KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!_ "Captain! Are you in there?!"

Taken completely by surprise, Inuyasha stumbled back and let go of Kagome, who only didn't fall because she had the sense to cling to his shoulders before sliding herself down. They stood apart for a moment, staring at each other, then the damned knocking happened again. Forgetting his nude state, and completely furious at himself for being so lost in the moment, he didn't notice any approaching sounds or smells to indicate a potential interruption, Inuyasha snarled and marched over to the wretched door, flinging it open.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT, WE'RE BUSY HERE!" he bellowed into the startled face of First Mate Sango, his nostrils flaring, his member still at half-mast by the adrenaline pumping in his veins but also quite softened after such an untimely disturbance.

Poor Sango spluttered, the gears in her mind desperately trying to catch up to what she was witnessing. "I- we—wait... are you-?!"

"It's all right, Sango, I simply lost... track of time," Kagome said calmly, stepping out from behind her infuriated lover. She had donned Inuyasha's shirt, which was long enough to just barely cover everything. "It's not much, but it's something," she commented dryly at Sango's shocked expression. She then turned to Inuyasha, handing him back his sword. "Till we meet again."

And with that, she disappeared into the crowd, leaving a stunned Inuyasha standing naked in the doorway.

It was only then did he realize that she stole his shirt. He smirked, going back into the room and pulling up his trousers. "Pirate," he said softly in admiration.

* * *

_**I would say I'm sorry, but... I'M NOT! XDD **_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's Note: Continuing from that last, ah, "cliffhanger." Sadly, no InuKag here, just Kagome (and Sango). **_

_**Words: 722**_

_**Thanks for the nomination (and now win!) for Best Action! **_

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"What in the name of the gods were you thinking?!"

Kagome leaned back on her desk chair, rubbing her hands slowly over her face. She tentatively peered through her fingers at her First Mate and friend, Sango, crossed arms and disapproving glare still very much present.

Kagome groaned and lowered her hands, lacing her fingers on her desk together in an attempt to look attentive and remorseful. Obviously, Sango wouldn't buy it, but Kagome decided it was best to humor her anyway. "All right," she said with exaggerated sigh of resignation, though her lips still twitched with the desire to laugh. "You may lecture me now, Sango."

"Inuyasha Taisho. You were... _galivanting_ with Captain Inuyasha Taisho!"

"That's a rather tame word to use," Kagome said, unable to resist a laugh from bubbling forth but she managed to restrain it from taking hold of her senses. She winked. "You flatter me."

"I am _attempting_ to reserve your dignity, even if you don't care." Sango huffed, uncrossing her arms and placing her palms atop the desk, leaning in and locking eye contact with her amused captain. "Kagome, you know I of all people do not judge someone's personal affairs" - Kagome snorted at the euphuism, but Sango plowed on - "but really, why _him?_ He has given you and this crew nothing but trouble for the past three months, I literally stopped you from killing him to report Commodore Hojo's whereabouts, and then, afterwards I find you naked and in a _compromising position with the very man you were trying to kill?!_"

"Sango, I don't need you to remind me of the madness of the situation. I can hardly explain it myself." Kagome stood up and strode over to her wardrobe, opening it, and slipping on a robe. She had been so relieved to return to the sanctuary of her cabin that she had completely forgotten her rather improper clothing. If one could call any clothing for a pirate "improper."

Underneath the warm robe, she became all the more aware of Captain Taisho's shirt clinging to her skin. Her face flushed with the memory of how close they were to making love... or rather making hate-love. Or something. Honestly, this whole situation was such a mess!

Kagome and Sango had managed to escape to the Naiad in time, via the secret alternative route that they had discovered some months ago. On the way, clad in nothing but Captain Taisho's shirt, Kagome attracted some leering eyes, but was too busy running with Sango at her side to pay them any mind (besides, with her sword in her hand, she knew she could take down any fool who tried anything). After ducking past a few alleyways, eventually the cobble-stoned town of Tortuga morphed into the tropical environment that covered most of the island. There was a narrow, manmade path cutting through some of the foliage, leading directly to a hidden bay, where the Naiad was docked and ready.

Thankfully, the Naiad's crew made no comment about their captain's promiscuous attire, mainly because they were focused on making their ship sail out to sea. But that wasn't Kagome's biggest concern, with her First Mate's icy cold demeanor looming over her head.

Sango said not a word to her captain during the flight from Tortuga. Once aboard, she passed on word to the crew to set sail east, captain's orders (Kagome merely nodded, making a beeline for her private cabin), Sango stormed after her captain, slammed the door to the cabin shut and glared openly at Kagome. And proceeded to launch into this argument.

"Oh? Because I do feel like I have to remind you, _Captain_," Sango spat now. "You ran away from a man, became a pirate, know exactly how pirate men are let alone all men, and are now _pursuing_ a goddamn-"

"Sango! That's enough!" Kagome shouted, spinning around and shooting daggers at her friend. All dismissiveness and amusement gone from her eyes; the storm returned full front.

Unconsciously, Sango took a step back. "Forgive me, Captain," she murmured, her eyes downcast. "I forget myself."

"No, Sango, I just... I can't explain it. His kisses felt like..." Kagome's voice trailed off, the tips of her fingers tentatively reaching up to her lips.

"Like what?" Sango asked, in spite of herself.

"Like... that boy at the masquerade..."


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's Note: An interlude. More of Kagome's story. **_

_**Words: 1,114**_

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Clutching the sword in her arms, Kagome ducked behind an alley wall, breathing heavily. The angry shouts of men rang in her ears, despite being muffled by the brick walls.

"Where'd she go? The fucking whore, I'll kill her..."

"Not before I have her, you won't-"

Kagome bit hard on her lip, trying desperately to silence the cry of fear bubbling up from the back of her throat. She could feel the bag of gold in her trousers, heavy along with the sword with her second major sin.

The first one was, of course, jilting Hojo at the altar.

Her wedding dress was in tatters, the long train of extra cloth abandoned immediately after fleeing the church so that she could run faster. The pristine white had yellowed, her bodice was ripped to near exposure, and her legs were visible up past her calves. She looked ruined, wild, bewildered.

A vision of prey for men with no moral compass.

She inhaled deeply, focusing on calming down her heart even as her mind continued buzzing with thoughts. It hardly seemed real that less than twenty-four hours ago, she was being dressed up by her maids, ready to accept the hand of a man whom she did not love.

Not that she had any choice in the matter, of course, she mused as she darted down the alleyway, praying for another way out. Her independence, her freedom, was torn from her fingertips the moment she kissed the stranger at the masquerade ball.

* * *

_The coach ride was silent as a grave, and just as suppressing. Kagome sat primly across from her grandfather, who sat with his eyes closed, stony and cold. Despite knowing how badly she messed up, despite knowing that she played with fire for too long, Kagome couldn't help but replay that delicious kiss over and over in her mind..._

_They returned home, her grandfather not once uttering a word. Kagome was turned over to the household's maids, who were courteous enough not to whisper or hint of any gossip within her hearing range. Whether or not they burst once down in their quarters mattered not to Kagome._

_All her mind was on was that kiss..._

* * *

She was trapped in a corner of the alley. There was nowhere to go. Even if she was capable of scaling the wall and clambering over the rooftops, there was no guarantee she'd be able to carry the sword with her without a belt, let alone have enough time to achieve her objective before being caught.

Damn this wretched dress! It made scaling walls, like climbing trees, significantly slower and more difficult than when she wore breeches (much to her grandfather's dismay).

The angry voices of men grew louder. Finally, Kagome unsheathed the sword (rather clumsily, as it was not resting at her hip) and took a stance, sword at the ready.

If she was going to die, then she would die fighting.

_But_, she thought with a smirk, _I'm going to take down as many as I can with me._

* * *

_Disgraced, the Higurashis were forced to "take a holiday" and flee their hometown for a while. Kagome's grandfather continued his cold silent treatment towards her, but carried on with the business of leaving with a brisk pace._

_In less than twenty-four hours after the disastrous masquerade ball, the Higurashi business affairs were rearranged, essentials were packed, and the family with a handful of servants traveled on in the coach, heading to their holiday home._

_Or more likely, as Kagome observed mulishly to herself, her prison._

_Several hours later, they arrived at a mansion that looked distantly familiar to her. Before she could figure out where she'd seen the place before, the coach stopped, and a servant helped her step out._

_Her heart sank._

_With an oblivious beaming look on his dull face, her distant cousin by marriage bounded up to eagerly shake her hand._

_"Kagome! It's been far too long! My goodness, you look awfully pale. I have herbal remedies that will whip you right back into shape, if you'll come inside..."_

_"Hello, Hojo," Kagome replied miserably, knowing all too well by the intense staring coming from her grandfather that this was no holiday, nor a way to escape the worst of the scandal._

_This was an engagement._

* * *

"Bitch! Gimme back my sword!"

"Aw, the kitten wants to play."

"Make sure she doesn't claw your eyes out, eh?"

Kagome's head pounded as the three large men surrounded her, sneering and laughing in that disgusting tone that insinuated something more than mere amusement was entertaining to them. Her stomach churned at the way they stared at her tattered attire, her exposed ankles and bare feet...

Suddenly, the past five years of being out came crashing down, the past five years of choking down lesson after lecture after lesson about men's needs and how to be a lady and how to do this and how to do that... Five years her childhood was robbed, five years her freedom compromised and finally taken, five years of enduring men's leers and women's whispers...

And that boy she kissed...

She never learned his name.

One of the men reached out and dared to touch her hair, jolting Kagome out of her reverie.

"What a pretty piece you are-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Kagome screamed. She shot forward with her sword, gutting the man before any of them could react. As he stood for a moment, choking on his blood, his companions stared in horror, while Kagome's eyes only blazed, her heart thundering with rage and adrenaline.

This was the first man she'd ever killed.

She ripped the sword out of his gut and he fell over, dead. She swung the sword around and pointed it at the other two men.

"If you don't want to end up like your friend, you'll leave me alone," she said through gritted teeth.

"You fucking whore! I'll teach you-!" The second man's arms and legs were stabbed in a slicing motion and he fell, moaning in agony.

The third man seemed less reluctant to meet his friends' fates, but the audacity of a man's pride never failed. "You're just a woman," he said, too stunned to sound angry, only baffled. Like he had just witnessed something unnatural. Something impossible.

Undeterred, eyes colder than fallen winter snow, Kagome aimed her sword at the man's throat. She didn't need to say a word; her eyes told him enough. Shaking uncontrollably, her last potential assailant turned heel and fled the alleyway, leaving the bleeding bodies of his friends behind.

"And you're just a man," Kagome whispered, cleaning her blade on the dead men's clothes before sheathing it back into its scabbard.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Nor am I an expert in pirate history. **_

_**Author's Note: Continuing with the plot, with a "quiet" moment as Captain Taisho contemplates things...**_

_**Words: 772**_

_**My birthday gift for you all. Consider it thanks for the second nomination this story received, this time for Best Serial! Thanks a lot! Enjoy! **_

_**Also, fun fact: I couldn't resist slipping in two brief Disney references... Hint: they're both song lyrics, but only one is a direct song title as well... Can you spot them? Let me know! ;)**_

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A pirate's favorite pastime was not the pillaging and plundering, as legends would lead you to believe. Nor was it tackling a storm, using every ounce of sheer gumption and gall in your gut and the sweat of your brows to survive and keep your ship afloat. No, not even the freedom to engage in licentious crowds without fear of losing one's "reputation."

No, the true call to piracy and sailing, the real reason why men, women, demons, and half-demons alike have been called over and over to sail out on the open sea, to brave her dangerous and beautiful waters, was something far more simple.

It is the quiet stillness of a clear night, the entire celestial heavens above providing the only natural light to the world, and nothing, nothing at all in front of your ship's hull, breaking the gentle waves but a vast, dark ocean.

It was the unspoken link that connects all seafarers, pirate or not. During those rare moments, when a man or woman wasn't below deck sleeping or working, each and every person who lived and died at sea would always try to find a moment to stare out ahead at the great unknown.

The ocean was an enigma if there ever was one among the world's natural wonders, and sailing men like Captain Inuyasha Taisho were forever captivated by her beckoning call of danger, adventure, and beauty.

But on this night, where the sea laid as calm and still as a glass table, the stars reflected perfectly upon its undisturbed surface like a million fireflies caught in a giant black jar, the half-demon captain of the Siren's Wing was not thinking of his beloved sea.

It was of her child, the wild daughter of the salty waves, the woman with eyes as deep and frightening as the fathoms below: Captain Kagome Higurashi.

Inuyasha was perched up among the riggings, with no back support but the ropes and a thin wooden pillar. Not that he had a lack of balance in any capacity, but it felt nice to rest his back against something as he stared off into the empty black space ahead his ship, where the border between the sky and the sea was utterly indiscernible, even for his heightened senses. He gazed out, sometimes dully watching the ship break the perfect stillness, creating tiny ripples that vanished almost as quickly as they were formed.

The ocean was rarely silent, and nights like these often put even the hardiest of sailors on edge. But Inuyasha found its quiet oddly comforting, leaving him with his thoughts at peace.

Surrounded by the eerily soothing pitch-black ocean, peppered with the reflections of stars, Inuyasha mindlessly chipped away at a spare piece of wood. He often whittled on wood to pass the time, whether to actually create a figurine or just to let it dissolve into tiny chips that he was then sweep into the ocean and let her consume his mindless task. This time he let his hands do the work, not concentrating at all, sinking deep into his thoughts as he were diving head first into the ocean.

Not for the first time since he entered Commodore Hojo's makeshift "contract," Inuyasha questioned the madness of it all. People went missing all the time. People ran away to join circuses or pirate ships or towns of ill repute all the time when they wanted to escape. Clearly, Kagome was running away and had no intention of turning back. So why the hell should he force her back?

_"... I'll grant you a full pardon. Your records will be stripped entirely of your piracy and you will be given a substantial income and home. You can retire in peace, wealth, and with a clear conscience..."_

Inuyasha snorted quietly. Clear conscience! Right. He hadn't the advantage of a "clear conscience" since the day he was born, and that had nothing to do with piracy and everything to do with his blood.

Demon and human. Neither one or the other. In society, no matter how upstanding, no matter how much blood, sweat, and tears he put into it, he would never ever belong.

No, only out here, on the ocean's surface, whether she be in a calm or turbulent or downright deadly mood, here, the ocean gave him a simple choice: live or die. No complications, no rules, no regulations. Simply life. Piracy was only an addition to the deal.

For the infamous Captain Inuyasha Taisho was not always a scallywag or destined for running away from gallows and cannon fire.

He was originally a member of Her Majesty's Royal Navy.

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_**AN: Which "Her Majesty," you ask? Fuck if I know. Just call her an Elizabethan figure and we'll call it a day lol. This was never meant to be a proper historical AU, but I'm throwing this disclaimer in case anyone tries to come at me. ;) Let me know what you thought! Thank you for your support for this little serial! **_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Author's Note: An interlude. Inuyasha's story. **_

_**Words: 2,118**_

_**Enjoy! **_

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This was a good job, young Inuyasha Taisho told himself again and again. Not many half-demons turned out as lucky as he did, with a secure job working for the Queen's Royal Navy. He had decent pay, good benefits, and even had higher chances of actually retiring in comfort someday!

He kept telling himself all that, but the words rang hollower and hollower in his mind.

As the cargo was loaded onto the _Justice_, Inuyasha had to bite his tongue from bitterly laughing at the horrid irony. One by one, the miserable shuffling bodies, shackled together by the ankles, moved from the deck to their hold below. Once or twice, a single body stumbled, causing ripples to interrupt the horrible, unanimous pattern, threatening a break in rhythm, until an overseer shook them upright and set them off once more.

Inuyasha watched with a fascinated horror – the kind where you cannot bear to watch and yet cannot look away – as the bodies kept piling onto the _Justice_. Many were shirtless, others wearing mere tatters, all sported some sort of physical assault: crisscrossed scars threaded down the shirtless backs, bloodied noses, bruises, cuts, and more.

It seemed that it did not matter that this cargo was damaged before it was brought to the colonies. Logic would dictate that to be absurd – why damage the goods? - but Inuyasha knew the truth. He didn't want to believe it at first, when he signed up to join the navy two years prior, but now he couldn't ignore it.

It did not matter whether the cargo was "damaged" or not, because the abuse inflicted on them was half the point.

To break their spirits.

To lose the urge of resistance.

Inuyasha swallowed bile, threatening to spill forth from his dry mouth, as a terrible thought entered his mind, forever erasing the distance he tried so desperately to hold.

This cargo had faces. This cargo had eyes, wide, frightened, bewildered, and angry.

The "cargo" ... wasn't cargo at all.

Digging his claws deep into his fisted palms, Inuyasha watched with an unshielded glare as the remaining slaves were forced below deck. He would hold his tongue, yes, but in his mind, he was already thinking a million miles an hour. Surely, surely, there was some other way...

"Lieutenant Taisho!" his superior snapped, Captain Naraku Onigumo whom Inuyasha despised. "See to it that the cargo is taken to Port Royal in time for the market three days hence."

Market. More like auction. Inuyasha remembered watching some of the poor souls desperately clinging to loved ones at the village before being dragged away... Trembling with rage and disgust (mostly directed at himself for not acting), he nodded curtly, barked a few orders to his men to set sail swiftly, and once dismissed, turned stiffly away.

For the first time in his life, Inuyasha's stomach couldn't bear the rocking of the ship on the ocean's waves. But as he leaned over a private side of the ship and heaved his breakfast, the bile burning his mouth and throat, he knew the ocean was not to blame.

.

.

.

Inuyasha was on his first "solo" mission for Her Majesty. He had been excited, given the opportunity to show he was more than just his bloodline, more than what society assumed of him. Captain Naraku had two roles to play: supervise Inuyasha's every move and oversee that all the "cargo" had been placed in the hold under lock and key. (There had been reports of other slave ships where hundreds committed suicide in droves by deliberately throwing themselves overboard).

Inuyasha knew he was being watched. Not only was this a sort of "test" to his loyalty to the royal family, but also a dare. Half-demons were not exactly known to rise in the ranks of society. The military was no aristocracy in a literal sense, but had its own hierarchy and place of honor in the world.

Although now, with the ship rocking towards Port Royal, and hundreds of pitiful souls beneath his feet, Lieutenant Inuyasha Taisho was beginning to believe that "honor" was overrated.

For three agonizing days, he debated with himself. On one hand, his livelihood. His dead mother's worries put to rest. His shameful blood ignored at long last.

On the other hand, the right thing. _The right thing._

Sometimes, he considered going below, to see the doomed souls in their atrocious quarters, to solidify his decision one way or another, but he always stopped himself. Not only because he knew the sight would be utterly horrible and stomach-churning, but also because he couldn't help but wonder if even after facing the true horror of it all, he would still go through with it. And that was a kind of shame he would not be able to bear.

Several times, he braced himself to directly confront his superiors about the whole situation. He worked up several convincing (and horribly cold-hearted) lines of logic: was selling slaves really worth all the money and time to collect?

_(Why the hell were slaves even a thing?)_

Did the cost of ferrying cargo across an ocean multiple times really balance out with the lack of payment for slave labor?

_(What about all those people, all those men and women and children with souls? Don't they mean something?)_

Surely, it would make more sense to invest in trade with the Orient? Spices ultimately changed this side of the world, after all! They make a very tidy profit!

_(Anything, anything, was better than to sell people!)_

But all his rehearsals fell flat, ringing horribly empty in his head along with the haunting, terrible words: _I am contributing to the slave system._

Still, his conscience was rebutted by images of his childhood: being rejected by fellow children playing in the streets, his mother's tears above her fixed albeit tender smile, people gaping at his telltale dog ears and silver hair, being turned away by tradesmen of every kind for an apprenticeship...

Finally, arriving the night before they were scheduled to make port, the Justice was docked at a nearby small island within view of Port Royal. It was where leftover ships often set anchor when the market had no room, due to scheduling issues.

As a result, Captain Naraku ordered the slaves to be brought up onto the deck for "inspections." The men were checked for broken bones, the women checked that their faces were left as untarnished as possible, the children mostly left alone. It was evening, with only the light of the ship lanterns and a candlestick carried by the cabin boy for the captain as he observed the inspections. Silently and sullenly, Inuyasha followed, feeling sicker than his last bout of throwing up, keeping his eyes downcast. That was a mistake in its own rite, because the feet of these poor souls were in an absolutely atrocious state. Bloodied scabs, blisters, swollen toes, one or two toes were actually cut clean off...

Leaving them in such a state was on purpose, he realized in horror. It made the slaves look filthy, savage, primitive. Inhuman.

Inuyasha's head pounded, boiling blood making his vision turn a hazy red... In his state of blind rage, he half considered slaughtering everyone including himself because it would be a mercy for the poor slaves and a suitable punishment for the members of the crew. At least he could die and see his mother again with his head held high, that he ultimately did a merciful act of justice rather than cower -

Then, his eyes fell on a young girl in the slave line up. Inuyasha's heart jolted.

In a crowd of humans, there stood one lone half-demon girl, with silver-purplish hair and lavender eyes. Her light brown skin was the only similarity she shared with her fellow innates.

Their eyes locked.

And in that moment, all debate and justification ended in Inuyasha's mind.

.

.

.

"Fifty lashes for insubordination," Captain Naraku said coolly, watching the disgraced lieutenant be forced to his knees, his uniform ripped down the back to expose his skin to the air. Inuyasha's wrists were tied down on one of the Justice's railings, with just enough room to grip onto the wood for the inevitable pain to come. Gritting his teeth, he held on, glaring across the dock at Port Royal, where dozens of curious onlookers have gathered to witness the fall of a naval soldier.

In the dead of the night, after the "inspections" were finished, Inuyasha finally made his choice. Using his quick reflexes and strength, he silently broke the slaves out of the hold, piled them onto the lifeboats, and traveled with them to the little "placeholder" island in front of Port Royal. There, he made connections with an old acquaintance, a smuggler named Kouga, who agreed to take the slaves back to their native village. Inuyasha gave every penny he had on him to convince the wolf demon, but by the time the transaction was over, Kouga was quite in a hurry to get a move on.

"Don't worry, mutt," he had said with a wry grin. "No rich asshole is going to convince me to relinquish these guys even with a million or more. I may ask for a high price, but once I make a deal, I never go back on it."

Still, they had to work fast, and soon the freed slaves were onboard the ferryboat that would "island hop" their way home. At first, the poor souls did not react more than the occasional bewildered murmurs (their spirits were so shattered at this point, they could scarcely believe a naval officer was actually helping them), but by the time they boarded their new vessel, this time with blankets and warm drinks in hand, a subtle hope began to kindle in their eyes...

Right now, Captain Naraku was in his element. Punishing an officer was a rare treat for him. Inuyasha could hear him pacing back and forth eagerly, and the sounds of leather and skin rubbing together indicated that he had the punishing whip in hand.

"Lieutenant Inuyasha Taisho, you are hereby stripped of your title, your income, your welfare, and your status as a member of Her Majesty's Royal Navy. Two hundred slaves freed! Do you realize how much profit we have lost?!"

The first lash sliced against Inuyasha's back, and he bit his lip to prevent from shouting in agony. Ordinarily, this wouldn't hurt him, but to add insult to injury, the tip of the whip was laced in demon poison. Not enough to kill him (being part human and all), but definitely enough to hurt like hell. He gripped onto the railing tighter.

"I suppose you felt sorry for the pathetic creatures? Shared a sort of kinship with them?"

Two, three, four, five quick lashes in succession. Inuyasha's bottom lip was now bleeding excessively, but still he held back from voicing his pain. Splinters began sticking into his palms.

"It is of my opinion, you know," Naraku continued in his slippery voice, lowering the tone so that only Inuyasha's ears could pick it up, "that half-breeds were destined to become slaves as well."

Ten, twelve, fifteen lashes. Inuyasha was beginning to see white spots. He shook his head, determined to stay conscious. He could no longer feel his hands.

"You were never meant to move above a mere lieutenant, you know. You? A lowly half-breed? Count yourself lucky you ever rose that high to begin with, if only because your father was a respectable high-ranking demon. Such a shame he lowered himself so disgracefully towards the end of his life, bedding a pathetic human woman."

Thirty lashes now. Inuyasha could no longer feel the blood trickling down his back, and his vision was growing blurry. The poisonous tip of the whip burned him with every touch, and each lash let the poison drag across his skin a bit before letting up again. He wasn't even sure if he was holding back on screaming anymore, all sound seemed to be blocked out.

All except for that bastard Naraku, who had a knack of getting into Inuyasha's head.

"Dirty blood... scum... a disgrace to Her Majesty's name..."

Forty. Forty-five... Forty-nine...

"You should have been a part of the cargo itself, filthy half-breed!"

Fifty lashes.

At last! Inuyasha's vision turned blood-red.

He broke from his bonds, turned heel, and grasped a shocked looking Captain Naraku Onigumo by the neck. His claws dug deep into the sadistic man's flesh, as Inuyasha lifted him up.

"_People aren't cargo!_" he snarled. And with that, he snapped the captain's neck (a loud, horrible cracking noise that no one could miss), and tossed the broken body overboard.

And all hell broke loose.

* * *

_**AN: Whoo! My longest chapter! (Mainly because I felt bad that poor Inuyasha's backstory was left on the wayside while Kagome got all kinds of cool scenes lol). Fun fact: the inspiration for this backstory's plot is derived entirely from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. If anyone caught it, let me know! ;)**_

_**There will be more on InuKag's backstories and more of their budding "romance" later! Until next time! Thanks for the lovely reviews! Keep them coming! **_


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